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The Scottish Government is working with partners to support delivery of the national dementia post-diagnostic service offer, which is underpinned by a national target that everyone diagnosed from 1 March 2015 is offered the service.

Since April, Integration Joint Boards are formally responsible for commissioning dementia services, including post-diagnostic services, in their area. Responsibility for the delivery of those services remains with the statutory body tasked with leading the service in each area and this is determined locally.

Other national activity to support service delivery includes work by NHS Education for Scotland and Healthcare Improvement Scotland’s Focus on Dementia Unit to help embed consistent quality principles into post-diagnostic support training and practice; and work by NHS National Services Scotland to ensure post-diagnostic data quality and consistency

The Scottish Government is working with partners to support delivery of the national dementia post-diagnostic service offer, which is underpinned by a national target that everyone diagnosed from 1 March 2015 is offered the service.

National post-diagnostic performance data, subject to a nationally comparative validation process, will be published for the first time in December and will show how many people have been offered the service between 1 April 2014 and 31 March 2015

The Scottish Parliament recently passed the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 2015. The 2015 Act is currently being implemented and contains several measures which strengthen the provisions in the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 that promote and protect service users’ rights. This includes giving service users more control over their representation and strengthening the position of advance statements and advocacy which help service users express their will and preferences.

The Scottish Government is engaging with stakeholders about how the work to implement the 2015 Act can be used to further promote the rights of service users, including those in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).

As part of the draft plan on implementation of UNCRPD, the Scottish Government committed to consulting on the Scottish Law Commission’s review of Adults With Incapacity (AWI) legislation with particular reference to issues around deprivation of liberty and thereafter to carry out a scoping exercise in relation to a wider review of AWI legislation. That consultation has concluded and the Scottish Government is now actively engaging with service users and stakeholders to determine the focus for areas of reform.

I welcome the contribution of this survey to the important issue of pressure area care for wheelchair users.

Healthcare Improvement Scotland has recently consulted on revised Standards for Prevention and Management of Pressure Ulcers. The revised Standards will be published later in September and will emphasise the importance of an assessment of the risk of pressure ulcer development being undertaken as part of initial admission or referral to inform care planning and the need for regular re-assessment to ensure safe, effective and person-centred care.

The care and support provided to wheelchair users will vary according to the unique circumstances of each person, but will always be made taking into account the person's clinical needs as well as what matters to them.

The provision of NHS wheelchairs in Scotland, including adjustable, tilt-in-space chairs, is via one of the five NHS Scotland centres in Aberdeen, Dundee, Inverness, Edinburgh or Glasgow. Decisions are made on a clinical basis, in consultation with the patient, taking into account the person’s individual needs to ensure that the most appropriate type of wheelchair is provided in each case.

The Scottish Government commissioned an independent review of funeral poverty in October 2015 and this was published in February 2016. The Scottish Government response accepts almost all of the report’s recommendations and we have been pursuing a coordinated set of activity since then. For example:

During autumn 2016 we are undertaking a series of engagement events including three themed round table discussions and a national conference on funeral poverty to promote a debate and develop a shared understanding of the issues. This work will feed in to a funeral costs plan which identifies practical actions.

Developing and consulting on options for a Scottish Funeral Payment to produce a benefit which helps more people, is more predictable and provides help more quickly.

Considering whether a Scottish Funeral Bond could help people plan ahead for their funeral.

The Scottish Government is concerned about variation in the costs of burial and cremation across Scotland and the impact this can have on people on low incomes. While it is for individual local authorities to set the level of their fees and manage their budgets, the Scottish Government will be working with them and the funeral industry to look at the impacts of variable fees as part of our wider work on funeral poverty. This will include a round table event with local authorities and a national conference on funeral poverty on 16 November 2016.